Romans 12 – that marvelous chapter outlining our spiritual service as well as practical principles of Christian conduct ends with an admonition on how Christians are to handle a hostile world. It tells us that we are not to repay evil for evil and we are to leave vengeance for evil perpetrated against us in the hands of Almighty God. Vengeance is His prerogative as the Great Judge of All.
I sometimes wish Paul would have left it there. But he did not. In fact, his next thought begins with that little word, “but.”
“But, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” [Romans 12:20-21 HCSB]
If our attempts to live at peace with everyone fail and after leaving any vengeance we might desire in the hand of God, Paul commands us to go the extra mile. We are now to show unexpected kindness upon those who want to visit evil upon us.
We are to feed our enemies if they are hungry and give them something to drink if they are thirsty. We are not to give into the temptation to meet evil with evil, but we are to confront evil with good.
Evil cannot be overcome by more evil, it simply escalates the situation further. Only good can overcome evil. God’s people have always been called to reflect God’s goodness in any and every situation. There is no way we can forget Romans 5:6-8:
“For while we were still helpless [sinners], at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” [HCSB]
While we were alienated from God, while we were His enemies, God’s ultimate goodness overcame!
